Visiting Cockatoo Island

Cockatoo Island is the largest island in Sydney Harbour. It will always be part of the story of Sydney. It is mostly known for its maritime heritage being a base for shipbuilding and repairs for both the Royal Australian Navy and other shipping companies. But is also has a rich convict heritage as a penal settlement.

In 2001, the Sydney Harbour Federation assumed control of the island and embarked upon major restoration works and activities to attract the public.

This year Cockatoo Island is one of the major venues for the 17th Biennale of Sydney Festival. Running from 12 May to 1 August 2010, 56 artists are exhibiting 120 works on the island. In 2008, there were 80,000 visitors to Cockatoo Island for the Biennale. This year some 100,000 visitors are expected.

Mary and I visited Cockatoo Island on Sunday 16 May, and of course we were interested in the convict heritage.

(at left - Mess Hall)

[at right - Old Military Guardhouse , site of Serge Spitzer's Biennale Exhibit Molecular (SYDNEY) (2002-10)]

In 1839, Governor Sir George Gipps chose what was then an uninhabited island as the site of a new penal settlement for convicts being transferred from Norfolk Island . They were put to work on building a stone prison barracks, a military guardhouse and official residences.

The convicts also quarried the island's sandstone for building works in Sydney such as Semicircular Quay, and were employed in the construction of the Fitzroy Dock (1847-1857) which was the first of the two dry docks on the Island. They provided all the services to run the island - gatemen, overseers, mechanics, wardsmen, watermen and gardeners.

History Services NSW has some 360 records of convicts who were imprisoned on Cockatoo Island.

One interesting find on the highest part of the island was the remains of the huge grain storage silos that the convicts had carved out of the sandstone.

It had been Governor Gipps plan to conserve supplies of grain in good seasons and minimise price fluctuations during times of drought and shortages.

There were twenty bottle-shaped silos measuring 5.8 metres deep and 6.7 metres in diameter, with a sealed man-hole at the top. They could each hold from 84 to 140 tonnes of grain.

(above left - partially exposed grain storage silo, Cockatoo
Island)

History Services NSW records that two convicts, James Halliwell (per Camden 1831) and Daniel Torpy (Per Eliza 1832) "suffocated in a silo on Cockatoo Island on 4 October 1852".

Conditions in the penal settlement on Cockatoo Island were notoriously overcrowded and it was the subject of regular enquiries into the state of prisoner accommodation and the administration. The settlement was finally closed in 1869 when the convicts were transferred to Darlinghurst Goal.

The prison buildings have been currently nominated for World Heritage listing along with other convict sites around Australia. Archaeological digs are in progress and have revealed important evidence from Cockatoo Island's convict past.

[above right - entrance to two solitary confinement cells and two storerooms, Cockatoo Island)

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to Cockatoo Island, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Governor Macquarie Visits Newcastle

Governor Macquarie made three visitis to Newcastle during his term of office.

On 5 th August 1818, he laid the foundation stone for the construction of a breakwater to be built from the mainland to Nobbys Headland. This was to be known as the Macquarie Pier. It was to be built using convict labour and rock quarried from the Fort Scratchley area (then Signal Hill). The Pier was not completed till 1846 but was very strategic in making the Port of Newcastle what is it today.

On the previous Sunday, 2nd August 1818, Governor Macquarie officially named the newly completed "Christ-Church". He has commissioned this to be built in 1817 and it was designed by the convict artist, Joseph Lycett. Today the present church stands as the magnificent Christchurch Cathedral at the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.

We visited Nobbys recently and did some exploring. Nobbys was previously known as Hackings Point and Coal Island. But from the earliest days of the Colony of New South Wales, it was always known that there was coal at Newcastle.

On the seaward side of Nobbys Headland, I found what appears to be the brickwork of an entrance to an old coal mine. Another interesting discovery was that of part of the old railway line out to the headland.

History Services NSW has extensive records of convicts who were assigned to the Newcastle area, including those who laboured at Nobbys. It is recorded that two convicts, viz, John Reddish (per Earl Grey 1838) and John Atkins (per Dick 1821) "absconded from Nobby's island off Newcastle, in a boat on 12/5/1842" . The latter "was in irons".

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to the Newcastle area, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Red Cow Inn

We lunched recently at the ever popular Sydney Rowing Club at Abbotsford Point overlooking the Parramatta River.

There is one wall in the Club preserved as containing the only remaining sandstone bricks of the Red Cow Inn (originally named the Red House and later the 'King's Arms") and Cottage built in 1837 on this spot.

The four corner holding nails of the plaque on this wall are hand-made square nails used in the flooring of the original cottage.


Today, the rivercats service the busy Abbotsford Wharf at Abbotsford Point.

In 1832, from this location on the Five Dock Farm, a punt service was established to carry people, horses and carriages across the Parramatta River to Bedlam Point. For many years this was the only river crossing between Sydney Town and points north on the Great North Road to Wisemans Ferry and New England.

The Red Cow Inn was a popular watering hole for travellers crossing the River to Bedlam Point and also for those travelling by water between Sydney Town and Parramatta.

In the Convict Database, History Services NSW has records of convicts assigned to the Fivedock area. For example, John Taylor (per Asia) who is recorded as "having absconded from William Wilson, Parramatta Road, Five Dock since 4/10/1843"

If you are researching a convict in the Five Dock area, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Also in the Hotel and Liqour Licensees Database, History Services NSW has a complete index of over 52,000 persons who were licensed in the New South Wales liqour industry from 1856 to 1900.

For further information go to: http://www.historyservices.com.au/hotels.htm

A Ghost Train to Toronto

On the weekend, Mary and I travelled to Toronto for a friend's 60 th Birthday celebration.

Toronto is on the west side of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. It is a beautiful spot and we intend to come back with our group of friends later in the year.

With an eye to its history, we could not resist to see what Toronto had to offer.

Firstly we found the old railway station which is no longer operational. It closed in 1990 after 91 years of serving the local passenger community. Oroginally a tramway was constructed in 1891 from Fassifern Railway station to Toronto. A variety of steam engines was used on this line including a horsedrawn carriage. The line was converted to a branch railway in 1911 terminating at Toronto. Many thousands of passengers travelled here for holidays at Lake Maquarie over the years, including the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) who visited Toronto in June of 1920.

Next we found a plaque commemorating the site of Reverend Lancelot Edward Threlkeld's second Mission for Aborigines which he established in 1830 on his 1280 acre land grant "Derambambah".

History Services NSW has some 20 records of convicts assigned to the Reverend Threlkeld in the Newcastle area, including one Charles Adams who arrived in the Colony in March 1823. He was assigned to Government House in Parramatta in April 1823. In 1828 at age 22 years, Adams is recorded as being a "servant" and a 'bullock driver' with Rev E Threlkeld, Lake Macquarie.

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to Reverend Threlkeld , you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Green Hills Burial Ground

Today Mary and I visited Pitt Town and Windsor, two of the Macquarie towns. Although we had been there many times before, we did a photo shoot of the many historical sites and buildings that remain today as a testiment to the districts's heritage.

These included the site of Governor Bligh's farm on the outskirts of Pitt Town; site of the Government Cottage (c1796-1919) where Governor Lachlan Macquarie named the five "Macquarie Towns" on 6 December 1810; St Matthew's Anglican Church (begun 1817); St Matthew's Rectory (1825); and the Hawkesbury Museum c1820 which was the home of the Hawkesbury's chief constable John Howe.

One of the most rewarding finds was the site of the Green Hills Burial Grounds, located on a patch of undeveloped land at the back of the Jolly Frog Hotel at Windsor. Not easily accessible from the town, we had to park in Court Street and walk down past the Toll House and go under the (Windsor) road bridge and over the bicycle roadway. We then came upon the site which today is a very peaceful green patch among the hustle and bustle of the modern day Windsor.

Green Hills was the earliest burial ground in the Hawkesbury district being used for burials from around 1806-1810.Governor Macquarie designated a new burial ground to be used from 1810 which is now the cemetery in St Matthew's Church of England.

From 1810, Green Hills however continued to used for the burial of convicts with the last convict being buried there in 1834.

The Hawkesbury district is rich in convict history. History Sevices NSW has extensive information on the large number of convicts assigned to the district.

If you are researching a convict ancestor, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Australia Day and your Convict Ancestor

Happy Australia Day to all our readers.

This day gives us an opportunity to reflect on who we are as Australians. For many of us this will focus us on our ancestors who came to this land as convicts from England.

Our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd spoke fondly of his convict ancestor, one Thomas Rudd, at an Australia Day function at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Sunday.

History Services NSW Convict Database has the following information recorded for the said Thomas Rudd:

• arrived at Port Jackson from Portsmouth on 28 June 1790 aboard the Neptune (Second Fleet). Sentenced at the Old Bailey on 23 May 1787 for a term of seven years;


• arrived at Port Jackson for a second time from England on 12 June 1801 aboard the Earl Cornwallis. Sentenced at the London Gaol Delivery on 19 February 1800 for a term of seven years;


• 1808 - sought assistance and was granted capital from John Blaxland for payment of wages;


• 1813 - subscribed to a building fund for a court house at Sydney;


• 1814 - recorded as a landholder at Liverpool;


• 1816 - required to prove he was free or be returned to government service. Resided at Liverpool;


• 1819 - assigned a convict servant, Edward McQuade (per theship Guildford which arrived at Port Jackson on 8 April 1816);


• 1822 - recorded as a landholder of Liverpool (free by servitude);


• 1824 - resident at Campbelltown - signed a letter to the Sydney Gazette asking for government investment in capital works at Campbelltown.

If you are researching a convict ancestor, and would like a ready summary of the information that is available, you should go to our website at:http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

A German Convict?

Yesterday, on a very hot Sydney day, I was interviewed by Dennis Gastmann for the German documentary series “With 80,000 Questions Around the World". In this show, the reporter travels to foreign countries to learn about their history, culture and tradition.

Dennis and his camera man, Thomas Hipp, are in Australia for one week and are scheduled to conduct four feature interviews for a program on Australia Day.

I was was questioned on issues such as:

• Do Australians regard themselves as a Convict nation? This is apparently a common perception in Germany.


• What is the significance of Australia Day, which many Aborigines refer to as Invasion Day.


• My own convict ancestry and what it is like for an Australian to discover they have a convict ancestor.

The program will be aired on German Public Television on 1 March 2010.

A search of the History Services NSW Convict Database found that 21 convicts were native of Germany. An interesting German convict was George Bennet alias Isaac Davis, who arrived in Sydney on the convict ship Waterloo on 12 June 1837. George was aged 55 years when he arrived and was a native of Brenham, Germany. He had been previously transported to the Colony on the convict ship Guildford in 1824 and had escaped during June 1835. In 1844 he was before the Hyde Park Barracks Bench of Magistrates for making a false statement. At this time it was discovered that he had not received any additional punishment for previously absconding from the Colony. For punishment, the Bench of Magistrates recommended that he serve two years on Cockatoo Island as punishment. He eventually received his Ticket of Leave for the Parramatta district in November 1847, which was later altered to Sydney district, so long as he remained employed by Mr. Isaac Norris of Pitt Street.